Putting It Into Context

For a while now I have been reading through my course material and text books which are very good at explaining methods like for example I have plenty of material for the stats module I am currently studying which is very good at explaining the method of calculating measures of dispersion and central tendancy etc. They explain exactly what cumulative frequency distribution is but the big problem is absolutely none of it is put into context.

Some of it can be put into context using my own intuition. For example using the derivative to find the rate of change of a function or the definite integral to find the area under a function. Other subjects are less obvious. How should I be expected to know what benefits the cumulative distribution function actually provides? Despite the method of calculation being so simple it is absolutely no use if I cannot see how the cumulative frequency distribution could be used to solve problems. Maybe I haven't attempted enough example problems or maybe I just don't have the level of intuition required to make use of it by myself which may be true. Surely there is a book of some sort out there that assumes you are capable of doing all the arithmetic necessary to solve problems but will give examples of how it all can be put into context?